Agriland travelled to the European Commission in Brussels last weekend to hear from 150 citizens from across the EU member states on how we could reduce the amount of food waste that we generate.
The EU wastes about 57 million tonnes of food each year, which equates to 127kg per citizen, all of which is worth €130 billion.
Aside from the economics, this food waste has a significant impact on the planet, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, which the EU is aiming to cut by 55% by 2030.
Click on the YouTube link above to see what happened over the weekend and what actions the EU Commission is planning to take next.
The EU Commission formed the Citizens’ Panel on Food Waste in December of 2022, which gathered together randomly selected people from across the union to share their ideas on how we could work to change these statistics.
At the final session which took place on Sunday (February 12), the citizens presented their 23 recommendations to the commission officials. Agriland was present for the event and spoke to some of the Irish citizens there to hear their views on the model.
Aoife Deasy from Co. Cork said that food waste was not something she was particularly aware of before she became involved in the panel.
However, she added that her eyes were opened to the scale of the problem during the sessions.
“At the start of the process, I had no previous knowledge of food waste apart from just skimming over it in school,” she said.
“It was really nice to hear from experts and hear about how we can make a difference not just as consumers, but all throughout the food chain, restaurants, every one of us.”
Peter Carvill from Rathfarnam, Co. Dublin presented the two recommendations from working group four, which the Irish citizens were part of.
The first related to the mandatory recording and reporting of food waste generated at all stages of the food supply chain, while the second related to investment in more sustainable forms of food packaging.
“Our first [recommendation] concerned the reporting of food waste and that definitely relates to farming,” Peter explained.
“We especially want to figure out how much we waste in actuality at the agricultural level and pinpoint where we can be more efficient.
“We think that an increase in transparency could only be a good thing for all players throughout the supply chain,” he added.
All 23 recommendations presented by the panel, including the two that the Irish delegation contributed to, were voted on by participants, with all passing by a landslide.
However, at a press briefing in Brussels, commission officials confirmed to Agriland that none of the proposals will be included in the legislation itself.
Rather, the legislation will set a food waste reduction target which all member states must meet. Countries will then be able to access these recommendations and may look to implement some of them as they formulate a plan to meet the EU-wide goal.